Their New Adventure
by Pyry Cole
Summary: Five years have passed, and many things have occurred in Riku's life. Join him as his reunion with Kogenta leads him on a new adventure to rediscover his friendships and to decide his future.  Riku x Kogenta, Slash, ShonenAi
1. From Riku's dreams

**Their New Adventure**

Chapter One

By

Pyry Cole

This is a free fan fiction and is not to be distributed for profit. Also, the characters and places involved in this fiction do not belong to me and are trademarks of the Ban-Dai Corporation. Now that that's out of the way on to the story!.

**Chapter One: From the world of dreams**

The soles of his shoes tapped on hard stone as he walked down the streets toward the bamboo thicket that held the old shrine. A gentle breeze rustled through his brown hair and a few autumn leaves were taken with it, getting stuck between the strands. It had been exactly five years since that evening, and he had come to this spot at this night for every one of them.

The breeze then was gentle and his spirit at peace for the time. He remembered it perfectly, how he had been content that he could say it with such confidence. Pointing the drive toward the shikigami and releasing him with his words. "Byakko no Kogenta. Here, our contract… is terminated!"

He hadn't realized at the time what had happened. Things went well for the first year, and he had even acknowledged Mo-Mo Chan's affections. Even as they dated his thoughts began to weigh on him heavily. He liked her, but it didn't feel right. No matter what he did it just did not work out, and there was a lingering thought, an emptiness which grew inside him.

He was 19 years old now. He was surrounded with good friends like Teru, Souma, and Mo-Mo. Even Yuuma had come around. Still, he felt lonely, no longer was he alone. But his heart yearned for a place near him to be filled, that deeply he knew there was only one who could.

The young man placed a small offering, a single rose, next to the old white drive and gave a very simple prayer, "Be well… Kogenta."

He smiled over the heartache, thinking of the shikigami he called "partner" as the pale moonlight illuminated the shrine. Having visited the shrine, he walked back to the Tachibana apartment, a place he called home with his grandfather, or at least the closest possible thing he had to one. The walk was the same as any night he would go through the tight streets, peaceful, short, and uneventful. He opened the door to the main room quietly and crept into his own room, careful not to wake his grandfather.

There was much occupying the young man's head, and little to fill the void in his heart. He drifted to sleep on his bed, quietly and peacefully, unaware of a presence around him.

He found himself in a room along the halls of the Fukumaden, waiting for something in Naraku. Through the thin rice-paper walls a shadow approached, and a faint jingle followed its steps. When the shadow appeared he spoke, though it was not his thought or will to speak.

He spoke in a deep, booming voice that was not his own, "Why do you approach? Why have you ventured into the plane of Naraku, where you do not belong? Do you wish something of me shikigami?"

He has had this dream many times before. Every, the shadow would approach, and Riku would say that same line, and the shadow would stay for a moment, but then run away without a word and he would wake up. However, it seemed that this time was different.

A quiet and familiar voice came, which Riku could never have forgotten, even if he tried, "… yes…"

Even though he could hear clearly the voice on the other side of the wall, he could do nothing, and it was as if his words were dictated for him, keeping him from saying what he wanted.

"And what do you wish of me?" Riku responded, once again in this voice that was not his own.

"I… Byakko no Kogenta wish to protect Tachibana Riku from the darkness in his heart." the familiar shadow said

"So… this is your desire," Riku said, still unable to speak of his own will. " Very well, it shall be granted, at cost." He finished.

"At cost?" the shikigami inquired with his echo.

"At cost of immortality and the majority of your shikigami powers" Riku had been forced to say. "Do you still wish to continue this contract?"

Riku thought to himself, "no… don't do it… Don't do it just for me." The voice of the shikigami declared, "Of course I do! Riku still needs me, and I let him send me away without knowing it!" Kogenta calmed down, "I left him too early… I'm a bad shikigami for letting him let me go early. It's the only thing I can do.. Please." His voice was shaking. Riku could almost hear the tears of regret through the voice of the shikigami.

"Kogenta!" Riku yelled, springing up from his slumber. Finally able to control his body, he panted, recovering from the mental struggle of his dream. The dream hadn't progressed that far before, but part of him was certainly glad that it had now. If only in his mind, Riku got to hear Kogenta's voice again. After recovering Riku laid back down to go to sleep again.

As his senses became dulled, and his mind was slowly lulled back into the world of dreams Riku could hear a faint and somewhat unfamiliar sound as a light glowed faintly from somewhere in the room. He was too tired to truly take note and just fell to sleep as the light had grown in intensity.

Riku had awakened to the smell of morning air and could hear the birds outside. However something was strange. There was another smell in the air, it was hard to notice but it was there, and there was another sound, breathing. Neither the sound nor the scent belonged to Riku. He felt something press against his body and shoulders, jerking him quickly from his slumber. His first vision was blurred and Riku's reaction to a seemingly unfamiliar body on top of him caused him to scream in fear and surprise, rolling off the bed and forcing the unsuspecting stranger to the floor.

As the stranger fell Riku heard a distinct sound that echoed through his mind. It was one he could not easily forget. It was a very large brass bell. He quickly rubbed his eyes and woke up more completely. Before him on the floor was a familiar figure. It was clad in a silver fur with blue stripes and clothed in a very familiar pair of oversized bright red leggings held by a simple rope belt and a tight armor-like grey/black shirt with metal shoulder pads. He continued to scan, staring into the deep red of the creature's pendant, and then eventually into the deeper red of the white tiger's ruby eyes.

Kogenta blinked. He was dumbfounded by Riku's reaction at first, having been tossed to the floor. Riku of course could not believe his eyes.

Kogenta quickly stood up shouting and pointing accusingly at Riku "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What do you think you're doing!? Greeting me like THAT!? What!? You're not happy to see me!? Is that it!?"

Riku was still staring in disbelief, "K… K… Kogenta?" he stammered

"Of course it's me." Kogenta responded smugly,

"What other shikigami do you think would put up with your lack of..." Kogenta was interrupted mid sentence by Riku leaping out of bed and clasping his arms around him in a tight embrace. Kogenta smiled softly "… respect"

Tears welled up in Riku's violet eyes as he continued to hold onto Kogenta. "I am happy… happier than you know! I thought I'd never see you again! I started to want you to return… I couldn't stand you being away forever. I'm so happy you came back!" he rested his head on Kogenta's shoulder.

Kogenta just smiled knowingly at Riku, who had grown much taller so that he was eye-level with the shikigami. Unable to stroke his hair, Kogenta just wrapped one arm around Riku to return the embrace and ran his claws through Riku's hair at ear level. "I never left. You're the one toujinshi that I couldn't leave, even if you couldn't see me. I was still watching you. You're so different from the other humans."

Kogenta said glumly, "I'm sorry Riku..."

Riku responded to his words, "for what?"

"I was supposed to make you happy… and I left you… I'm a terrible shikigami." Kogenta cried

"Don't say that. You're not bad. You gave me hope, and courage. You gave me happiness and friends. You chased the darkness in my heart away." Riku answered

"But it didn't last…" Kogenta countered, "If I made you happy why had the darkness returned?"

"Because, Kogenta. Though I was happy, I couldn't stop thinking about you." He said

"I… I knew it… it's what I did isn't it… because I… I killed your…" Kogenta blubbered in an unbecoming and disheartened manner, but was quickly silenced by Riku.

Riku began to articulate "I already told you several times before you left… I wasn't thinking about that. I was only thinking about _**you**_. Not what you did. My darkness came from _**not**_ having you with me… not knowing if you were at my side. Kogenta…. Kogenta… I… Love you!"

Kogenta smiled and laughed "I already knew that. I love you too… you're the best friend and toujinshi a shikigami like me could…"

Riku interrupted him "No. I mean… I really love you... I can't imagine my world without you, I want you with me forever, Byakko no Kogenta. Will you… be mine to love?" Riku said quietly but firmly.

Kogenta wiped a tear from his eyes, and blushed. his nose turned a deep shade of red. He responded, intoxicated by Riku's words. "I knew what you meant… I've been watching you. But to hear you say it… Yes... I will. Yes... I want to be with you, Tachibana no Riku."

Kogenta grabbed Riku's head at the back, just below the ears and pressed his forehead against Riku, locking the stare of his ruby eyes into the violet of Riku's, "I promise" he thought to himself… "So… this is what love feels like… real love." Riku tipped Kogenta's head upward, and locked his lips with those of the shikigami briefly.

They backed up a step to look at each-other. And then they heard a sound. Kogenta's stomach rumbled for the first time. He blushed. A deep shade of red could be seen under his fur and he brushed his hand through the back of his spikes of white and blue hair. He flashed a pathetic, humiliated look of hunger "Uhm... got anything to eat?"

To Be Continued


	2. Trying New Things

**Their New Adventure**

Chapter One

By

Pyry Cole

This is a free fan fiction and is not to be distributed for profit. Also, the characters and places involved in this fiction do not belong to me and are trademarks of the Ban-Dai Corporation. Now that that's out of the way on to the story!

**Chapter Two: Trying New Things**

Riku grabbed Kogenta gently by the hand, leading him into the main room. Kogenta blushed, holding onto Riku's hand as they walked to the other room. He had never felt hunger before, and the thought of eating still disgusted him. However he had to. The hunger was painful and made him weak in the knees.

Riku sat Kogenta down at the table and headed off into the kitchen. While the food was being prepared the aromatic scents of fresh mountain vegetables wafted through the house. Kogenta lay back slightly, supporting his weight on his arms while he waited. The scents had somehow helped him detach from his surroundings.

He thought about how he'd bonded with dozens of toujinshi in the past, but it was nothing like this. He could never forget Riku after their contract was complete. Kogenta spent many of his days simply watching the ex-toujinshi, fawning. He hadn't thought that Riku felt the same way about him, until long after he left. Of course, looking back now, it only made sense, considering how quickly their bond developed. It was faster and stronger than any other bond formed between a shikigami and his toujinshi. It developed so quickly that their feelings had probably become obvious to everyone except for them until Kogenta had left.

The sounds of clattering dishes and scraping knives stopped. By this point the aroma from the food had become a bit more pungent, and obviously burned. Even after five years, it seemed that the boy was still a terrible cook. Riku rounded the corner carrying a pair of small, black-lacquered bento boxes. Kogenta's eyes widened as they were set on the table. Both of them contained some red-colored rice and steamed azuki beans with black sesame seeds. One of them had a small umeboshi. Each was served with beef and green beans, a few mountain vegetables and a touch of radish and a small chawan filled with prepared matcha. Most of the foods looked lovely, even though they were slightly burned.

After placing the trays on the table Riku sat down next to Kogenta and leaned in close to him, pointing out the spread. "I made us some Hokaben, and for the occasion, a little sekihan." He leaned in closer. "I also used up my last ume..." he pulled Kogenta in a bit closer and whispered in his ear "… just for you."

Kogenta gulped. Never before had he needed to eat, so he was unsure of how it would taste, and if he would offend Riku with his reaction. He hesitantly picked up a pair of chopsticks and reached for the umeboshi, taking a small clump of rice with it. The byakko brought the small clump of fruit and red rice to his lips, pausing for a moment and making a second gulp. He slowly put the umeboshi in his mouth, the moment it had touched his tongue he had nearly gagged but managed to control his reaction. He chewed it up quickly and forced it down, coughing for a few moments afterward. Kogenta was not prepared for the first bite. His taste was far too sensitive, especially for something so salty and sour. He quickly reached for his chawan and gulped down the thick, bittersweet matcha, exhaling a sigh of relief afterward.

"How was it?" Riku asked

Kogenta chuckled and shot a glance at Riku from the corner of his eye. "…. Worse than I thought!" he jested loudly and smiled.

After that first surprise the rest of the meal went fairly well, and was far easier for the shikigami to stomach. This was the case at least, until the sensitive byakko had taken his first bite of the kinpira gobo which was both sweet and a bit hot. Kogenta was in no way prepared for hot foods of any degree. The burning sensation had quickly filled his mouth and he began to panic.

"It's Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Kogenta yelled, fanning his tongue.

Riku laughed for a moment, and then calmly stated. "For someone so strong, you sure are a baby, Kogenta."

Riku pointed toward the kitchen, "Go in there, there's some bread. Bite into it and it'll make the heat stop."

The panicked shikigami ran into the kitchen to find the bread Riku spoke of. However, he found two different loaves side by side. Kogenta didn't know much anything about bread, so he judged them quickly. One of them had a light green tint to it, the color of that thick tea. Kogenta thought for a moment. If it was the same color, perhaps the bread was matcha flavored… he actually liked the matcha. The shikigami shredded the packaging to get a slice of bread out quickly, spilling some on the floor. He did not hesitate to quickly bite into it.

"Aieee! HOT!"

Riku heard Kogenta screaming from the nearby room and stumbling into the wall, followed by a thud and the shattering of a clay pot. He ran into the kitchen quickly. When he entered he saw bread strewn about the floor, and a fine white powder filled the air and covered much of the counter and the ground. Among the bread and flour lay Kogenta; face up twitching with his eyes wide open and tearing, quietly repeating, "Hot…. Hot… Too hot…"

Riku rushed to the side of the struggling shikigami to help him out. Luckily the flour pot had missed him by centimeters. Riku inspected Kogenta and noticed one of the pieces of bread near him. It was clear to him that the shikigami had gotten into the wasabi bread. He turned around and got some soy milk from the refrigerator and poured it into a small glass. Meanwhile Kogenta got up behind him and grabbed him by the shoulder.

Kogenta lisped angrily fanning out his mouth and panting, "Why did you thend me in there alone! "Go get thome bread" you thaid! I didn't know what to look for! Now my mouth'th on fire! Well...? Can't you thay thomething?!"

In response Riku thrust the glass toward Kogenta's face, stopping centimeters from the byakko's nose. The quick thrust caused Kogenta to recoil at first, partly afraid that Riku may have been trying to hit him with the glass, mad at him for the reaction. Kogenta's expression changed from one of surprise and fear to one of confusion for a moment until Riku spoke.

"Drink this" he said flatly.

Kogenta quickly complied, greedily gulping down the chilled beverage, stopping only for a few moments to breathe. It helped to reduce the burning greatly and its flavor was subtle enough not to disturb his delicate senses.

"Thanks" Kogenta replied

Having gotten through that crisis Kogenta recovered his composure. He became worried that his outburst may have caused hard feelings because Riku had remained quiet.

Kogenta looked at Riku with wide, innocent eyes. "Are… you … are you mad at me for messing everything up?"

Riku remained silent

"Riku?" Kogenta spoke, his eyes beginning to water slightly. He was still not receiving a response.

"Riku!? I'm sorry. I was bad… bad shikigami! Please… please… talk to me… hit me as hard as you can… anything! Please just don't stay mad."

Riku finally responded, a very serious look in his eyes. "Kogenta…"

"Yes?" the shikigami questioned.

"I'm sorry, I kind of lost track. Let's get you cleaned up... okay? You're a mess." Riku said, rubbing the back of his head and smiling with slightly flushed cheeks.

Kogenta recovered, no longer sad or afraid of what he might have caused. He had become happy just to know for sure that Riku wasn't mad with him, and that he didn't hate him for everything he'd done. His elation quickly changed from thoughts to actions as he leaped toward Riku and gave him a big hug. This had inadvertently covered him in flour as well, as Kogenta was completely covered in the stuff.

Riku chuckled, "Well, I guess you won't be the only one getting cleaned up now."

To Be Continued

Well that's it for the chapter… yeah kind of crappy and boring. But things have to start somewhere.

I would like to take a vote on where the story should go at the end of the next chapter… I have two story-arcs in mind that are possible.

Either choice one: Riku takes Kogenta with him to his school and enrolls him. It's a school set up by Souma, and it specializes in training toujinshi/shikigami as well as people capable of using toujin-fu, in order to help them become better… something would happen eventually, and the story would take off that way. Also, Kogenta would learn to use toujin-fu (later vote would be whether it becomes a more romantic feature, or a more adventurous one.)

Or choice two: They receive a letter from Teru and Rina, which leads them on an adventure in far off lands. This one would leave less time for romance, but would have more action. (Later votes.. I'm not entirely sure what vote types would come for this one)


	3. No Pets In The Bath

**Their New Adventure**

Chapter Three

By

Pyry Cole

This is a free fan fiction and is not to be distributed for profit.

Also, the characters and places involved in this fiction do not belong to me and are trademarks of the Ban-Dai Corporation.

Now that that's out of the way on to the story!

**Chapter Three: No Pets In The Bath.**

Outside of the walls of the Tachibana apartments Sento, they could be heard. "Aaah!. Th---this hurts Riku!" Kogenta exclaimed. "Don't worry, You'll start feeling a lot *urph* better in a bit" Riku assured. "You said you'd be *ahh* gentle!" The shikigami burst out, his eyes practically tearing. "Did you always complain so much? Just trust me, you'll like it in the end." Riku rebutted.

Kogenta struggled against the hard brush running through his matted fur. As an immortal, he had never been undressed, and his fur had never been properly groomed. Thousands of years of poor grooming practice had come back to haunt him as Riku's brush caught on every little knot and tangle, pulling them loose, and even pulling some hairs right out of the follicles. With all of the enemies he had fought, the shattering of his body he had endured. Surely, in Kogenta's mind, this brush, running through and pulling strong on every hair upon his skin, was the most unbearable torture. What made it worse, was that it was being inflicted upon him by the one he trusted the most.

Eventually, Kogenta had given up the struggle, so too had his fur. Soon Riku managed to brush it down to a smooth texture, and then, it was quite beautiful. Kogenta's entire coat felt silky smooth as Riku ran his hand through it. The white and blue glistened brightly in the light, almost as if to glow softly. Riku stood Kogenta up, and removed his towel, leaving the shikigami nude. He inspected for any mats or other problems.

Kogenta's face had become pink. He had never been seen like this by anyone, even himself. He was clearly embarrassed, however, he didn't try to hide anything as a human might. Instead he stood, in an unfamiliar situation, with an unfamiliar feeling overcoming him, as Riku eyed him over. However, his former toujinshi did not look for long, and headed into the calm and warm waters of the Sento.

Riku beckoned Kogenta to join him in the bathwater. A distinct advantage to being the owner of the apartments since his grandfather disappeared, was that he had control of when, and whether or not the public bath was open and closed. Thus, they were guaranteed that nobody would be there to see the odd sight of a shikigami taking a bath.

The white Byakko silently complied, stepping into the warm bathwater, and submerging himself to the chest as he sat down. His senses had never worked in the same fashion before he had come back like this. Everything felt more... real. The warm water washed him over with a calm feeling, and he relaxed, sinking to his chin.

Riku let the byakko enjoy his time bathing. He was deep in thought, trying to piece together the situation. Clearly, Kogenta somehow came to this world with no contract. He needed to eat now, and something felt different about him, as though his body even felt like it was made of something.. different. The toujinshi could only imagine that there was truth in his dream. And only kogenta would know the answer for sure.

He was jerked out of his meditations by a splash of hot water hitting him square in the face. "What's the big idea?!" Riku exclaimed. By the time he had turned his head to face the Byakko, another watery assault was on its way. He quickly closed his eyes and blocked some of the splash with his arms. Looking across the bath at the byakko, and the playful look on his face, Riku saw only one recourse. He had to counterattack.

Riku summoned up all of his strength and thrust a mass of water at the shikigami with a wide arm sweep. Kogenta giggled playfully as he and Riku launched salvos of water at eachother. Their play began to intensify as splashes grew faster and more frantic.

They ran around the pool, trying to catch each other off guard. Soon the Byakko and the toujinshi were splashing at point blank range, and in his excitement, Kogenta tackled Riku, knocking him against the edge of the bath.

Riku just sat and stared. Kogenta grew concerned. he pointed a clawed finger at Riku staring back with wide eyes. "Are you okay? Riku?".

Riku grabbed kogenta's finger and reassured "I'm fine.". He moved it out of the way as he shifted around, and lifted himself out of the bath. As Kogenta followed closely, he slipped on the slick tile floor, landing flat on his rear. Riku laughed briefly as the byakko struggled to get back up on the slick tiles, his hands and feet not having enough texture to properly grip the wet surface. He lent a hand, helping to pull Kogenta to his feet. After guiding the shikigami away from the wet tile, Riku handed Kogenta a towel.

"Take this and dry off. You should probably wipe your feet with it too." He explained.

Kogenta grabbed the towel and complied with Riku's instructions, afterward wrapping it around his waist. Riku put his palm on the shikigami's cheek, and looked at the freshly cleaned and brushed tiger before him.

Kogenta was dumbfounded. "Huh? Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Riku stared for a moment again, a strange look in his eyes. "This... this is real right?" the toujinshi rebutted.

Kogenta could feel his blood beginning to boil. Why did he have to fall for such an abnormal creature?! Real?.. Riku could see the fire in kogenta's eyes, he could see the typical angry response rising to the surface, that he'd come to know, and for some reason, had become so enamored with. As the Byakko opened his mouth with an angry expression on his face, Riku put his hand over it, and responded. "That's all the proof I need." and he leaned in on Kogenta's shoulder.

Kogenta had grown ever more confused, unable to make sense of what had just been said, and what had just happened. He calmed down, somewhat, just stared into space, putting a soft, furry arm around Riku. He tried to speak, "Ah..." was all that escaped his mouth, in his loss for words.

As the walked out of the bath house, and into the halls of the apartments, riku looked back. They had made a pretty good mess of the place. Everything looked soaked, and there was quite a lot of white and blue fur floating around in the water.

**~To Be Continued **

This time, sooner.

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The votes have been cast from all of the sites that the story was posted on so long ago.

Kogenta's going to school. (In this alternate plotline, one can still expect to encounter Rina, as well as Teru.)

Yeah, it's shorter this time, but I'm trying to warm up my fan-fiction shonen-ai thought muscles


End file.
